Sewer cleaning device



F. J. KERB ER SEWER CLEANING DEVICE Nov. 26, 1940.

Filed Sept. 2. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ci/Zefner Nov; 26, 1940. FQJ. KERBER SEWER CLEAN I NG DEVICE Filed Sept. 2, 193's 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 26, :1940

UNITED STATES 'PAT-ENTAOFFIVCE SEWER CLEANING DEVICE Frank J. Kerber, Chicago, Ill. Application September 2, 1938, Serial No. 228,206

3 Claims. (01. 15-10430) either removing or severing clinging parts and locomminuting, cutting or reducing 'the same to small parts which will drain oil or can beflushed out so as to restore effective drain use of the pipe without the necessity of the expensive and slow process of digging with the attendantdifli- 15 culties, expense including permit, damage to basement cement, street, pavement or lawn, trees or shrubbery. "1 a The device is designed to project a flexible rod with a cutting element or head at the lead end 20 thereof, into a sewer or drain pipe and trap or other tortuous part or connection to clean out obstructions orstoppages, and the invention comprehends a novel, simple, compact and relatively cheap and foolproof power, preferably electrically 25 driven sewer cleaning machine or auger of the character referred to, for forcing and turning a flexible or coil spring rod into a sewer orr'drain,

including a trap or other tortuous fitting or length of pipe to quickly and effectively clean 30 out the same to restore its efllcient and maximum use and service.

-My invention further comprehends a novel sewer cleaning machine in which the parts are enclosed in a casing protected and capable of 35 passing through a doorway and yet so constructed with the rod disposed or coming out at right angles to the wheeling direction when the device is moved about so as to stand'rigid in use and resist torque backward forces tending to shift 4 or turn the machine'over, and yet having the same lightness in weight and being capable of being conveniently wheeled about like a wheelbarrow, and which further embodies an internal drum in which the sewer rod is coiled or wound, and from which it is unwound and guided through a feeding device or means, preferably hand operated to feed the rod into a sewer when desired, either fast or slow, orretarded or retracted, according to the nature and degree of 50 obstruction encountered, or to withdraw or retract the same under complete control of a single operator at all times. The invention further comprehends a simple and novel rod feeding or withdrawing device, a

55 head or auger for use with the rod and device,

means to compensate for the resistance to the feeding or advancement of the auger head or cutter and rod and to adjust the friction thereon as desired to insurepositive feeding or not, to take care of any recoil or resistance according,- 5 to the obstruction encountered,-means to eft'ectively guide the rod to and from the drum and sewer entrance opening or pipe to prevent recoil or springing loose of the coil rod or spring and whipping or doing damage or injuryto the operator, to provide a novel belt driven drum upon which the coil spring rod is wound internally and from which the same is unwound in use with ,means for supporting the drive motor and pulley thereof to insure that the belt will be kept taut at all times and thereby insure positive driving and still compensate for unusual resistance or obstruction, and to'generally improve, simplify, lighten, cheapen and enhance the value of and render more eflicient devices of this class.

;Another object of the invention is to provide I a" novel auger and cutter head and root cutter for use with the improved and novel machine as an especially eflicient accessory.

Withthe above and other objects in view,

the invention consists in certain novel structure and arrangement of parts and combinations to be hereinafter more particularly specified and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe machine with the casing broken away todisclose'the interior structure and mechanism.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional elevation of the upp r part.

Figure 3 is a central vertical section at right angles to Figure 2. v

. Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional plan view of the coil spring rod feeding device. 49

Figure 5 is a vertical section'at right angles to Figure 4, taken on the line 5 5 thereof.

4 shown hinged at 5 and provided with depending flanges at the front and back edges of the cover forming rests 8, to give and keep the device level even on uneven ground or supporting surfaces to support the device horizontally against movement but rigidly and stilLpermit the device to be wheeled about like a wheelbarrow, through the medium of extensible andretractable handles arranged horizontally as at 9. These handles are made of tubes or pipes and slide through apertures l0 through the vertical members of the frame and casing at the back and about midway of the height of the same, while the inner ends of the handles engage apertured brackets mounted on and secured to horizontal frame members l2 and I3 in the form of angle members or the like secured to the sides immediately below the apertures and running longitudinally and spot welded or otherwise secured in position. On the ends of the handles are caps [4 adapted .to engage said members and form stops to limit movement in either direction inwardly and out-' wardly to retracted or extended positions when moved into inoperative and operative positions of use.

Also mounted inwardly of the frame member or support l2 and parallel to both'frame members l2 and -|3, and at the front and back or ends of the casing and frame, is another horizontal frame member or support l5, also of angles, which together with the frame member |2 supports a. bearing plate |6 suitably secured thereto and hav- 40 ing a vertical transverse sleeve IT at the casing side with an enlarged bore I8 adjacent an aper ture IS in said side. At the other frame member u is a similar bearing 20 for a tubular shaft 2| which has its other end journaled in a bearing 45 22 on the frame member 3 provided with a lubrieating oil cup 23. On the shaft 2| is a pulley 24 of considerable diameter and made up of plates 25 with peripheral flanges 26 forming a groove- 50 for an endless belt, chain 'or drive member 21 whichis also trained around a pulley 28 on the shaft-.26 f the motor 30 forrotating the pulley 24 at a m erate speed by reason of the reducing gear thus provided. The motor 30, preferably of 55 the electric type, is mounted on a supporting frame 3| pivoted on .a horizontal axis 32 on the angle 33 supported on the aforesaid frame members l2, l3 and I5 at the back. of the machine easing and frame. Bolts 34 are provided through the frame at the back and through the supporting frame 3| at the top horizontally substantially but preferably slightly inclined inwardly and forwardly, being passed throug an angle member 35 at the top of frame 3| with nuts 36 threaded 65 thereon at the inner ends of the bolts and coil springs or cushioning members 31 on the bolts interposed between the back of the casing and the frame 3|, to resiliently support the motor and permit adjustment of the tension of the springs; 70 but tending to normally bias the frame and motor outwardly to maintain the belt taut at all times and insure a positive driving of the pulley 24, but permitting adjustment of the bolts and frame 3| to tighten the belt 21 when necessary. 75 The cover is adapted to be thrown back against the side of the casing as shown in dotted lines in Fi e 1.

The pulley 24. is preferably made up of the plates as specified and anchored at the hub 36 and bolted or otherwise rigidly secured or fixed 5 thereto as at 39 while the hub is fixed to the tubular shaft 2| as at 40 or otherwise keyed thereto to rotate together. Rotatable on the tubular shaft 2| is a drum 4| fixed as at 42 to the hub sleeve 43 thereof and formed at the inner side of plates or disks 44 similar to the plates 25 but anchored or riveted to an annular flange 45 of the hub 43. The drum further comprises a peripheral wall-46 flanged at the inside as at 41 for attachment to the plates 44 and an inturned annular flange 48 at the front relatively deep but leaving the drum open in the center as at 49. The coil spring sewer rod as designated at 50 is wound and anchored within the drum 4| against the peripheral wall thereof at the inside and passes over a guide bracket 5| having arcuate free end and intermediate portions 52 and 53 and anchored at the other or inner end at 54 to a tubular guide member 55 runningspirally and axially into the bore of the tubular shaft 2| at the end thereof adjacent the bearing or sleeve 20 and out through an aperture in the inner wall of the bearing l1 and through the aperture l9 and a spiral flexible guide tube 56 to the sewer pipe, said tube being 6 or 8 feet in length and shown broken away in Fig. 1. The tube 56 is anchored by a set screw 51in the bore I8 and prevents the rod from-whipping when rotated with the drum as the latter is driven, together with the spiral head or drain cleaner anchored against rotation at the free end of the rod.

In order to feed the rod into the sewer pipe or retract the same from a normal rotating position without rectilinear movement, the bearing plate I6 has a bearing 58 for a vertical shaft 59 re-"m;

tained at the bottom by a collar 60 and on the bearing, a worm gear-or spirally grooved roller 4 and 5. The plate It has a slot 64 in which is a bearing collar 65 receiving the reduced lower end of a stud shaft 66 parallel to and spaced from the 50 shaft 59 and retained in position by suitable means such as a washer and nut 61. The shaft" 66 passes through an angular slide 66 and bears a similar worm gear or roller 69 corresponding to the gear or roller 6| and gripping the rod 56 therebetween. A gear 10 is fixed to the gear or roller 69 as by bolts or screws-1| through arcuate slots I2 to permit rotative adjustment of the gear 16 so that. the teeth of the gears 63 and"! may be properly mated. 'Ihe bearing plate '16 60 also is angular, the vertical or angular portions of the plate l6 and the slide having apertures in horizontal alinement and the aperture of the slide being threaded to take a bolt 13 on which a coil spring 14 is mounted between the ears and adjustable by a nut 15 to regulate the tension by which the slide is held so that the gears are held in mesh and the rollers or worm gears against the rod, to insure positive feeding or retracting, that is axial or rectilinear movement of the coil spring sewer rod. For this purpose, the shaft 59 extends to the top of the casing where it is guided in a bearing 16 secured to the casing frame, the

.upper end of the shaftadapted to take a crank H for turning the shaft by hand to feed the rod 2,22s,oos

as slow or as fast as desired as it is driven or rotated with the drum by reason of the gears and rollers or worm gears arranged as described.

A'tool box 18 is arranged upon the bars [2 and I 3 and suitably secured in position, to take the crank and any tools. When the handles are pushed in, they are out of the way, and the device is preferably of such size that it may ,be passed through a doorway, an advantage especially for cellar or basement use, in which case, the flexible guide tube 56 is removed and placed in the casing and the top closed. The current for the motor may be taken from the house wiring at the plug 19 with a switch 80 to control the same through the wires or conductors in the conduit 8|. An auger head or root cutter 8! as shown in Fig. 6

may be employed at the end of the rod 50. It

may also be mentioned that the hand feed is very sensitive and permits the operator to feelthe nature and degree of the obstruction so that the machine may be operated accordingly, and the feed advanced, retarded or left as is. p Also, the guide being pivoted where anchored at 54, permits the guide to swing to the left or right and deposits the sewer rod 50- snugly as its coils wind within the drum, guides the rod and keeps the coils thereof close together as it winds, as well as from buckling and snarling and prevents backlash,

From the foregoing, it is thought that the'operation will be readily understood without further description, and while I have shown and dethrough said opening, a pair of feed rollers arranged in said casing directly inwardly of said opening and between which said element passes, means for rotating said feed rollers to move said element-longitudinally through said opening into or outwardly of the casing, said last-named means including a vertical driving shaft arranged within and rising to near the top of said casing,

the upper end of said shaft being adapted to re-- ceive an operating handle when the cover of the casing is opened, a drum mounted in the casing transversely of the frame, a hollow drum loosely mounted on said operating member concentrically thereof, an elongated flexible member windable into coils within said drum and'unwind-' able from the latter, said flexible elementextend- Y ing axially of said operating member, a tubular guide member running spirally within said drum and through which said flexible element extends, the fixed end of said guide member being attached to said operating member axially of the latter, and an elongated resilient bracket for guiding the flexible element to and from the periphery of the drum, said bracket being attached to the free end of the tubular guide member adapted to press the flexible element against the periphery of the drum.

3. A sewer cleaning device comprising a frame,

- move said flexible member longitudinally in either direction, a tubular guide member running spirally within said drum and through which said flexible element extends, the fixed end of said guide member being attached to said operating member axially of the latter, and an elongated bracket for g'uidi ig the flexible element to and from the periphery of the drum. said bracket being pivoted to the free endof said tubular guide member for lateral swingingmovement relative to the latter. 

